Clear Law is backing calls by charity Beating Bowel Cancer for earlier diagnosis of bowel cancer across England.
Thousands of people are dying from the disease because their symptoms aren’t being spotted early enough, the charity said and there are wide-ranging variations in how effectively the disease is being diagnosed in England.
They said that earlier diagnosis in some of the worst performing areas could save 3,200 lives every year, as in some regions, less than one in three cases of bowel cancer are being detected before the cancer has started spreading around the body.
“It’s unacceptable that there are CCGs in England that diagnose less than one in three patients at an early stage,” said Mark Flannagan, chief executive of Beating Bowel Cancer.
“If they all performed as well as the best, thousands of lives could be saved and millions of pounds could be freed up to be used for other bowel cancer treatments, which patients are frequently told are unaffordable.
“This will require further improvements in screening, renewed efforts to raise awareness of signs and symptoms, and investment to support improvements in GP performance in investigating and referring patients appropriately.”
Around 41,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year, with about 16,000 of these cases proving to be fatal. Early diagnosis is vital: if detected at the earliest possible stages, bowel cancer sufferers have a 97% chance of survival, whereas in the most advanced stages, this drops to just a 7% chance of the sufferer living for a further five years.
Nick Ormiston-Smith of Cancer Research UK said: “There are a number of reasons why cancer may be diagnosed at an advanced stage – for some cancers, symptoms are often only noticeable once the tumour has already started to spread. But for many others there are chances for the cancer to be picked up earlier.
“It’s vital that people are aware of their body and if they notice anything unusual they should visit their GP.”